Maskcapades
by Lacri567
Summary: While searching for Groudon, Team Magma finds a hidden box. Inside, a strange mask. Maxie studies the mask to find out that it was created by the norse god Loki, and that it has many powers. Using its power, he becomes a sassy, sharp-dressing man, someone he's always wanted to be. But when other bosses, including Archie, learn of it, they race to snatch it's power.
1. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Many years ago, types of pokémon teamed together to rid the world of a menace. One that changed people, changed pokemon and was deemed evil by many creatures. One faithful day, many pokemon, big and small, marched together to rid the world of said menace. ' _Careful with the box!'_ Roared a Charizard. ' _The item inside is pure evil. We must make sure it doesn't escape again!'_

A Mismagius floated towards it. ' _Are you sure this is the right thing to do?_ ' It asked, looking worried and its voice sounded feminine. ' _Of course! You've seen what it has done to the Kalos Region, do you wish to see it what it does in yours?!'_ Charizard yelled, looking at it. ' _No, I don't.'_ Mismagius said, slowing down. A Blastoise walked up. ' _I want you to know, many of the others are considering leaving this region after we bury the tool.'_ It said, looking towards the fire type. ' _Let them. If it wasn't for my master, I wouldn't be staying here either. I consider this land cursed.'_ Charizard said, flying towards a cave. ' _This is where we shall rid of the device. Zangoose, Seviper, please bring it forwards.'_ Both Pokémon in question glared at each other, and brought it towards Charizard. ' _Zangoose. If you please, open it. I need to be sure Seviper didn't snatch it from our clutches.'_ Charizard ordered, glaring towards the serpent. ' _I would_ _ **never-**_ ' Seviper claimed, before being interrupted by Zangoose opening the box. Inside, a green, wooden mask stared at the three Pokémon. It's frame glowed, calling for a host. Their eyes glowed green for a quick moment. ' _C-close it!'_ Charizard cried out, looking away. Zangoose obeyed, sealing it. ' _I respect you for being truthful, Seviper. But as soon as this is done, our alliance is over._ ' Zangoose said, crossing it arms. ' _Agreed.'_ Seviper hissed.

' _Mismagius. Please come forward.'_ Charizard said, looking towards the elegant ghost type. ' _Yes, the curse. I can set it upon it, but I still believe this will do no good. People_ _ **will**_ _find it again.'_ Mismagius warned, still looking concerned. ' _That's the future's problem. But, this curse will at least make sure whoever finds it will suffer.'_ Charizard explained, looking towards it. ' _Good or Evil, no one should come into contact with it. Now either set the curse, or be exiled!'_ Charizard warned, many eyes starting at it. Mismagius lowed its head. ' _As you wish. . .'_ Mismagius floated towards the box and used curse. A nail appeared, surrounded by smoke. It landed into it and disappeared. It faced Charizard. ' _It is done.'_

' _Good. Now, return to your masters! All of you! we don't need to raise suspicions!'_ Charizard ordered, flying away. Mismagius set the box inside the cave, burying it inside a hole. ' _While I do believe you are not evil, you are still dangerous. Now, disappear, until you are found again. May the world have mercy when that happens . . ._ '


	2. Chapter 1

_Hoenn Region_

 _Present Day_

"Ugh!" Tabitha moved a big rock from his feet. "I can't believe we have to look here! The Red Orb probably isn't in this dusty old cave!" He huffed, wiping sweat from his brow. "I know, but-" Courtney paused, looking forward. "The grunts need direction, and we have to-" she paused, then resumed. "Help for at least a while." Tabitha rolled his eyes, and resumed working. "The red orb might not-" "-be here but our boss would like to find-" "minerals that would help find the cave Groudon is in." Courtney hated her pauses, but at least Tabby listened well and he didn't really care. "Sir, Madam!" Yelled a grunt, running towards them. "What is it? You know we're busy!" Tabitha ordered, looking towards them. "We found a strange artifact in the lower regions of the cave that you might be interested in!" The grunt informed, leading them towards it. Other grunts stood around a brown chest, cracked and brittle. "A box?" Tabitha asked, looking annoyed. "Hmm." Courtney started at it intently. "Well, don't just stand there, open it!" Courtney ordered, staring at them. The grunts did as they were told, and opened it with ease. Inside, a dark green mask. It seemed as it was staring at them, into their souls. "A-a mask?" Tabitha asked, looking at it. "Hmm. This thing has _not_ aged well." Courtney said, examining it. It seemed as if it glowed, leading Tabitha to pick it up. "It has a certain charm to it. Like it's- _**calling to me . . .**_ " Tabitha said, almost in a trance. He started at it intently, and it looked like his brown eyes turned a bright green. Courtney grew concerned. "Tabby? Tabitha!" Courtney yelled, snapping Tabitha came out of his delusion and looked towards Courtney. "I'm fine- I'm fine. That was. . . weird." He said, gripping his head. "Hmm. How strange." Courtney pondered, grabbing it. She set it back in it the chest. "We'll take this back with us. We need **something** to show that we were here. Pack-" she paused, trying to collect herself. "-pack it up and we'll take it back to base. I'll make a quick call to leader Maxie telling him of our findings." Tabitha nodded and lifted the crate.

Maxie stood in his office, petting his Camerupt and looking outside. It was a nice day, the sun shined in promise of good terms. He seemed bored, rolling a pencil around on his desk whilst doing his research. His Camerupt seemed content, dreaming away. It dreamed of finally finding Groudon and pleasing its master. "Hmm." He smiled, glad to see it happy. His cell phone rang, interrupting the small peace in the office. He picked it up and answered. "Yes?" " _Hello, Sir._ " Courtney greeted, looking at the sky as they were returning. "Ah, Courtney. How was the search?" He asked, trying to be quiet. " _Unfortunately sir, we found no traces of the red orb_." Courtney said, hesitantly. Maxie gave a slightly disappointed grunt and continued to listen. " _However, we did find an ancient artifact. We have decided to give it to you to make up for loss time. At least this wasn-"_ she paused.

" _-wasn't a complete waste of time._ " Maxie nodded, straightening his glasses. "Well, return safely. I'll see you when you get off."

' _Yes, sir. Signing off._ ' Courtney said, hanging up. "What did he say?" Tabitha asked, looking nervous. "He took it well, maybe Camerupt put him in a good mood." Courtney put her cell phone in her pocket and sat down. "What do you that thing's for?" Tabby asked, looking at the box. "It was most likely-" She paused. "-likely for a masquerade party or something." She said, looking towards the sky.

"Hmm." Tabby looked towards the chest, looking concerned.

"Leader, we have returned." Courtney greeted, entering Maxie's office. "Ah, welcome back." He greeted, looking towards them. Tabitha brought in the chest, and set it down. Maxie arose from his chair and took a look at it. "Hmm. Open it." Maxie ordered calmly, still looking at it. Tabitha looked at Courtney, nervously. But he caved in a opened the box. Inside, the strange green mask sat. It was a pale green, with various marks lining downwards. "Hmm. It looks peculiar, but has a nice charm to it." Maxie studied, picking it up. Tabby stood towards Courtney. "I'll put it in a frame. You are both dismissed." Maxie said, waving his hand in dismissal. They both exited, with Tabitha nervously curling his hands together. "I have a bad feeling." He said, rubbing his knuckles together. "Why?" Courtney asked, looking at him. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling." Tabitha said. "Hmm." Courtney, said. They both turned a corner, and they were out of sight.

In his office, Maxie set the mask in a frame as his Camerupt awoke. It stood towards his master looking at the mask. It glowed, causing Camerupt to stand back. "Hmm. What's wrong, boy? You look spooked." He said, patting it. Camerupt made a disgruntled noise, turning its nose upwards. "Come on, it's time for your dinner." Maxie said, walking towards the dining room. Camerupt stood, looking at it. It hesitantly turned around, walking away as the sun lowered in the sky. It had a bad feeling in its stomach.


	3. Chapter 2

Everything was calm at the Team Magma base that night, as the leaves on the trees swayed gently. However, Camerupt still had a worried feeling in his stomach. Something just wasn't right. He could feel it in his bones. As he ate his dinner, Crobat noticed his worried expression. " _What's wrong, Camerupt?"_ he asked. Crobat's voice was dark in brooding, like a vampire's. He had the accent too, for some unknown reason. " _Wha- oh, I'm fine, Crobat. Just some unsettling feelings is all._ " Camerupt replied, trying not to sound nervous. Camerupt sounded a bit like the nerdy kid at your high school, like his voice would start to crack like a preteen's. But his voice would go to the occasional stutter. " _You don't look fine. You look worried."_ Mightyena chimed in, his gruff voice sounding almost like a bark. Mightyena was a pokémon who didn't like seeing weakness. Especially in his team, even though he did care for them, a whole lot. During their training he would try not make them feel bad about themselves, because he hated low self-esteem the most. " _Well, Master received something from the admins today after their search."_ Camerupt explained, taking a bite out of a poképuff. " _So?"_ Crobat and Mightyena asked in unison. " _Well, It_ _ **worries**_ _me. It looks like a face, and it_ _ **glows.**_ _It gives me this undeniable feeling that something bad is gonna happen."_ Camerupt made a slight whimper. " _So it's a bit unsettin', that's okay. You'll get used to seein' it. It's probably nothin' to worry about."_ Mightyena said, trying his best to confort him. " _Yeah, you're probably worried about nothing. Ya just a little spooked."_ Wheezing said, losing breath a bit afterwards. He then coughed, sending smoke across the room. " _Sorry about that."_ he said, zooming around the room to remove the smoke. Mightyena and Crobat rolled their eyes. " _It's okay, Wheeze. We know you can't help it."_ Camerupt said, holding his nose with his hoof. " _It's gettin' late. Let's stop talkin' about evil face thingamajigs and get ready for bed."_ Mightyena said, cleaning his plate and going into their specific room. " _Agreed."_ Crobat said, as his glided in as well. Wheezing followed, holding in a cough. " _I'll get a sip of water. I'll be back."_ Camerupt said, walking into the kitchen.

Maxie sat in his office, gripping his head in his hand. "This is hopeless. We're no closer to finding Groudon than we were ten weeks ago. Archie and his band of goons are catching up with us, sooner or later they're going to find Kyogre and-" He paused out of frustration and groaned. "Maybe I should have did what my mother said and became a writer. Then I wouldn't have to be dealing with all this bullsh-" A green glow coming from the right side of the room interrupted his thoughts. He turned to face the mask he had placed on the wall. But, it just sat there, emotionless and still. But, Maxie could feel it pulling him forwards. An aura he couldn't explain, like someone grabbing you by the collar and forcing you to look at them. He grabbed it off the shelf, and studied it closely. He could have just seen a spark of light from the outside, or it could have just been his imagination. He flipped it to the other side, examining its features. It glowed again, seeming as if it was going vertically to the left. "Wha-?"

He inched it closer to his face, trying to find out what would cause a phenomenon like that. Suddenly, it leaped out of his hands and latched onto him. In a dazed surprise, he reached to get it off. But, he couldn't. It was air tight, and it just keep sticking onto him when he got it a little loose. He started to panic, as it felt like he couldn't breathe. It squashed and stretched all over his head, wrapping around every feature. He felt dizzy, and it seemed like he was losing oxygen. Without warning, he started to whip around with such force. Like a tornado or a hurricane, he was going so fast that he couldn't make out anything in the room. Lighting lit up the room, and he was literally bouncing off the walls. Suddenly, he felt relaxed. Like he didn't need to worry about what was happening to him. Comfort washed over him in waves, and he was still confused.

He stopped spinning. But he didn't feel dizzy, like twirling around at 50 MPH didn't do anything to him. He looked around, feeling . . . _off._ "I feel strange-" he said, his voice was warped and bouncy. He walked over to his mirror, almost seeing someone he didn't recognize. His outfit had turned into a black, leathery suit. With fiery red seams and a red undercoat. His hair was neatly combed, and it looked like it normally did, but it looked like it had just been cleaned. His glasses had darken lens,and they were not as noticable now. He was wearing a nice fedora, too. The one thing that stood out the most was his now oddly green face. It was a very bright color, and it almost looked like it was glowing. He was very confused, but it felt like he was in a dream-like state. He looked away from his mirror, looking at his gloved hands. His eyes glowed a bright red, and he grinned. "I don't know if I should be worried about this." He turned to face his mirror again. " **But I'm stuck up with being a repressed tightwad! It's about time** _**Team Magma Leader**_ _**Maxie**_ **steps out and steals the show for once!"** He looked outside to see the bright lights coming from the nearby city.

" **Watch yourself, Team Aqua! I'm coming after** _ **you**_ **first!"** He zoomed out of his office at what seemed to be the speed of light, leaving everything in a mess from his transformation.

However, he didn't know that Camerupt, who had walked in for a sip of water, saw what happened. The poor thing stood there dumbfounded, wondering what the hell just happened. He trampled back to the other pokémon's room. He _had_ to tell someone about this.


	4. Chapter 3

Camerupt ran into the room, gasping for air and he tried not to slide on the slick floor. In an surprised awaken daze, Crobat looked at Camerupt. " _Camerupt, what's wrong?! Is there an intruder?!"_ The pocket monster rubbed his eyes and flew down, trying to confort his friend. Mightyena stood up suddenly, looking around. " _Intruder?!_ _ **Where are they?!**_ " Mightyena barked, running around and snarling fiercely. " _N-no Mightyena, everything's alright. I-I mean, it's not alright! Something crazy happened!"_ Camerupt took a moment to recover his breath, and gulped. " _What happened? Is Master alright?"_ Crobat asked, looking concerned. " _N-No! That f-f-face thing! It possessed him! It made him- different! He zipped and zoomed all over the place! I can't just explain it, everyone f-f-follow me!"_ Camerupt got off his knees and trampled his way out the door. Crobat and Mightyena looked at each other in a puzzled way and then followed. Wheezing opened his eyes slowly and looked out to them. " _What's going on? Is it morning already?"_

" _Come on, Wheeze."_ Mightyena called looking through the doorframe. Wheezing slowly hovered and flew out the door.

The team followed Camerupt to Maxie's main office, which was a mess. Papers were everywhere, his chair was on the floor, everything was out of place, books were off the shelves, and Maxie and his mask were gone. " _You sure somebody didn't bust in?"_ Mightyena asked, looking confused. " _This place looks awful! It looked like a freakin' tornado hit it!"_

Crobat flew around, examing the room. " _Hmm. The face thing is gone, and so is Master. I think I heard about something like this . . ."_ Crobat lowered to the other pokémon's levels. " _There's this old myth about a ancient device. One that would possess humans and rid them of their insecurities. It made them powerful, and bold. But it was destroying towns, making people jealous and angry, killing people. It caused total anarchy as everyone was fighting to have it in their clutches. So other pokémon teamed together to rid of it, and it was buried in a . . . old cave . . ."_ Crobat halted his speech, his eyes widening. " _You don't think that we have it. Do you?"_ Camerupt asked, his tone quivering. " _We may have it, did you say it looked like a face?"_ Crobat asked, looking at the nervous fire type. " _Y-yes, and it's a very dark shade of green."_ Camerupt explained, gulping. " _It's the it. That's what they said it would look like. I can't remember what its called but we should go after Master before he does something idiotic or crazy."_ Crobat flew upwards again and headed towards the window. " _I'll come with ya, but only because I'm a bit worried about this thing."_ Mightyena said, clenching his teeth against the lock and opening it with slight ease. " _I-I-I'm coming, too."_ Camerupt walked towards the window. Mightyena and Crobat were waiting outside, and they pulled Camerupt through.

Wheezing yawned. " _I'm going back to bed. Good luck, guys."_ He said, as he floated back to the team's room. The group rolled their eyes and started their journey to find their master. Along the way, they saw two figures standing alone, seemingly hiding in the bushes. " _What will we do if our hordes discover our relationship? We will surely be abandoned, or killed!"_ One voice said, sounding scared. " _I would rather die with you than return to our rivalry. I am sick of seeing your horde's blood 'll run away. Run away far from Hoenn."_ Another said, sounding serious. Camerupt stopped to listen to their problem, having a small urge to help. He quietly approached them trying not to startle them. Mightyena noticed him inching towards two mystery figures, becoming startled. " _Camerupt, what are you doing?!"_ He whispered, trying to steer him back towards the group. Camerupt moved the bushes, revealing two monsters that would never be seen together, unless they were in battle. A Zangoose and a Seviper, who both jumped in surprise when the bushes were pulled away. The Seviper hid behind the Zangoose in fear, as the creature shown its claws. " _Who are you?! Where did you come from?!"_ He said, shielding the serpent-like creature. " _We're not going to hurt you, we're friendly, we swear."_ Crobat explained, trying to calm the frightened pair. The Zangoose paused, trying to think. " _A-are you wild or captured?"_ Said the female Seviper, who revealed herself. She looked very different than most of her kind; her markings were bright shades green and pink, and the blade of its tale, along with its fangs, were shades of blue.

" _We are captured, but we swear we won't hurt you."_ Mightyena promised, approaching them. " _Alright then, if you don't hurt us, we won't hurt you."_ Zangoose slowly approached them, standing tall. " _What are you all doing outside at this time of night?"_ Seviper asked, slithering towards them. " _Well, it's a long story. We don't really have time to explain. How about you come with us? We'll explain on the way there?"_ Camerupt asked, looking at them. Zangoose and Seviper shared a slightly concerned look, but decided to follow along. The group and their new tag-alongs continued down he route to find Maxie and return him home safely.

Meanwhile, the base of Team Aqua stood quiet as eight grunts patrolled the outside. Two of each eight stood protecting each set of doors.

The two at the front were getting tired by the second, but they would rather stay up all night than be scolded by Archie. One yawned, as the other played cards by himself on the ground. A dash of colors zoomed down the path leading to the entrance, but neither seemed to notice. Maxie quickly stopped by a tree, looking at the small security at a distance. _Grunts guarding the door, huh? I gotta admit, that's smart for Archie. But, I have a bit of an idea._ Maxie smirked, and dashed away. The grunts still stood at the door in a tired daze, but then bright lights suddenly appeared out of nowhere, causing them to cover their eyes. Carnival music started to play as well as a booth appeared. "Step up! Step up!" Maxie announced, dressed like a carnival employee while wearing a fake mustache and pointing to a Test-Your-Strength pole.

"See if your strong enough to ring the bell! Ring it, and you'll win a plush of any Pokemon you chose, and many other prizes!" He smiled as the grunts stood there dumbfounded. A few moments passed before he rolled his eyes." _ **Well, COME ON!**_ " His yelled boomed loudly, causing the grunts to run towards him. "Uh, how much does it cost to play?" Grunt #1 asked. "Nothing! It's absolutely free! Just hit the target, ring the bell, and win a prize." Maxie informed, showing off a shelve of many plushes and other novelties. The grunts smiled and looked at each other with excitment. Grunt #1 quickly picked up the giant mallet and raised it up, wobbling slightly as he couldn't exactly hold its strength. He slammed the mallet down onto the target, and the metal bullet passed five marks before falling down. "Pshh, you call that strength?" Grunt #2 taunted, as he crossed his arms. "It's hard! This thing is heavy!" Grunt #1 whined, dragging the mallet towards his feet. "Move, I'll show ya how it done!" Grunt #2 said, moving the other out of the way and grabbing the mallet. He hoisted it up and slammed it down, causing the metal bullet to go straight up and hit the bell. "Congratulations! You win!" Maxie announced, smiling. "Cool! What did we win?!" Both grunts asked, jumping up and down with excitement. "A one way ticket to **mars!** " Maxie said, still smiling. "Huh?" The grunts asked, stopping and looking at him. Maxie pulled a remote control out of his pocket and pressed a button. This caused the ground to spring up, sending the grunts to rocket up in the air so far that Maxie couldn't even see them anymore. "Enjoy your trip!" He snickered, waving. He spinned around and returned to his original outfit, then zoomed inside. He hid by a corner in a hall, as Shelly and a female grunt walked past. "So, have you received the papers from the boss, miss?" The grunt asked, trying her best not to seem rude. "Yes, we are very close to finding the blue orb. Hopefully closer than those Team Magma fools." Maxie scowled and gritted his teeth. "Well, I should get to my quarters. I will see you and the others tomorrow for the meeting. Goodnight." "G'night, ma'am." The grunt said, before Shelly gave her an angry look. "I meant miss! G'night miss!" The grunt ran away quickly, as Shelly rolled her eyes. She walked down the hall and went to her room. Maxie grinned, and started to follow her to her room. Shelly walked into a bathroom, and Maxie ducked into her room, which was conveniently located next to the bathroom. Maxie flew around the room quickly, looking for the papers that the grunt had mentioned earlier. He smiled as he finally found them and put them into his pocket. Unfortunately, at the same time, Shelly walked in and got a good look at Maxie. She screamed and Maxie did too, the only difference between them was that Maxie's eyes had flew out of his head as he screamed. Shelly retrived a small barrel gun from his waist and aimed it at Maxie, before he started to spin around the room. She fired rapidly, trying to hit him as the bullets seemed to miss his body. The room filled with gunshots and Maxie's giggling as the two were seemingly fighting. Maxie then jumped out the window, landing on his feet and dashing away. Shelly ran up to it, looking around for whoever stole the papers. But, they were nowhere in sight. She threw the gun down in frustration, yelling "Dammit!"

She furiously left her room and stood out in the hall. "I need every grunt on stand-by, **NOW!** "

Maxie dashed all the way back to his bedroom, setting the papers down and looking at himself in awe. "This in incredible! This powers are amazing! With it, I can finally acceive my goal of expanding the land for the greater good! I can be someone I've always wanted to be! Hell, I might just be able to do _anything_!" He looked at the clock, which read 3:30 am. He hesitantly wrapped his fingers around the base of his head and started to pull, causing lighting to flash as Maxie groaned. It came off, as Maxie was returned to normal. Exhausted, he staggered back to his room, the mask falling from his hands. He landed onto his bed face first, crawling up onto his and kicking off his shoes. He tiredly took his glasses off and set them onto his bedside counter, and curled into bed.

A little after 4:10 AM, the group of Pokémon returned, crawling in from the window. " _Are you sure it's okay if we stay with you?"_ Seviper asked, slowly slithering inside. " _Of course, but it'll only be for a while._ " Camerupt whispered, trying not to make much noise as he crawled in. " _That's more than enough time. Thank you."_ Zangoose said, helping him inside. " _We should get to bed, it's very late."_ Mightyena whispered. Crobat quietly flew to the door of their master's bedroom, to see him quietly asleep. " _Master is back, but he's asleep and I don't see that thing anymore. We should get to sleeping, we have an eventful day tomorrow."_ The all headed into the room, not knowing that the mask was on the floor and it glowed, wanting a host once more.


	5. Chapter 4

That morning was awfully slow, and it felt like time was slowed down as the grunts of Team Magma made their way towards the Magma Auditorium. Tabitha and Courtney stood waiting on the stage, both checking their watches. "Where is Maxie? The whole team is almost here!" The worried man bit his lip, looking through the curtains to see the audience. "I'm not sure. He never- n-never oversleeps. Camerupt was sick or something last night, I guess." Courtney said, pulling her sleeve back over her watch and peeking out behind Tabitha. The entire team had arrived, waiting patiently for their boss to appear to present his speech. But, it had been over 20 minutes, and Maxie had not arrived. Tabitha was biting his lip so hard that it was turning purple. "Tabby, _stop._ You're gonna burst it!" Courtney pried his mouth open in order to move his teeth away. "I can't help it! It's a habit!" He exclaimed, stomping his feet. "Ugh, They're getting restless . . ." Courtney said, looking out at the audience again. "We gotta- gotta go out there. Maxie always told me that if he was ever late to a meeting to stall the grunts and keep them occupied. L-let's go." Courtney stepped out before Tabitha could object, as the crowd quieted down as soon as she did. "Good Morning, grunts of Team Magma!" She greeted, nodding. The grunts did the Team Magma salute in unison and sat down. "Our great Maxie is running late, so- so I will read the current complaints as we wait." Courtney reached inside a metal box, pulling out a small piece of paper. She scowled as she read the first one, and quickly showed Tabitha. He scowled furiously stepped up to the stand and grabbed the microphone. "Whoever wrote 'Tabitha should lose weight. He looks like a Muk.'; Hahaha. **YOU'RE NOT FUNNY!** " He slammed the microphone down onto the stand, causing a loud feedback sound. The grunts covered their ears as it rang throughout the speakers. Tabitha ran back into the curtains, steaming. Courtney quickly grabbed the microphone and breathed into it, testing to see if it still worked. "Okay, I will remind you all _once again_ that the complaints are for the community, not the team. I will find out who wrote that, and they will be fired. I hope you're proud of yourself." She brought up some papers and began to read them.

The sunlight peeked through Maxie's bedroom window, hitting his eyes. They scowled, and he groaned as he slowly pulled himself up out of bed. He slid his glasses off his dresser and into his hand, putting them on. He left his bedroom and walked into his kitchen, feeling sluggish. He poured some into a small glass and drank from it. He looked to his wall clock, which read _**10:30**_ am, spitting some of his milk out of his mouth. He quickly gulped down the rest and exclaimed "The meeting! Sweet lord, I overslept!"

He ran into his bedroom and pulled off his pajamas, trying to quickly put on his outfit. He brushed his hair, his teeth in a quick manner. He checked himself in the mirror real quick, then ran into his Pokemon's room. "Everyone wake up! We are very, **very** late!" He yelled, trying to wake up his exhausted pets. They groaned, slowly getting onto their feet. "Come on, Come on!" He said, smoothing out his outfit's wrinkles as his pets went into their pokéballs. He picked them all up, and set them onto his belt. "Good boys! Very good boys!" He said, running out of his office and out the door.

Zangoose and Seviper peeped out of the closet, slowly stepping out. They looked around,walking into the kitchen and finding a bag of Poképuffs. They slowly ate them, savouring the first meal they've had in days. " _Will your father find us?_ " Seviper asked, breaking the silence between them. " _I don't think so. We are miles away from our hordes. We will be long gone by the time they pick up our scent here."_ Zangoose looked at Seviper, cupping her cheek. " _You know that I would give my life for you, correct?_ " He asked truthfully, gazing into her eyes. " _Yes, of course. I would do the exact same thing."_ She said, curling around his torso. They shared a small kiss, and returned to the room.

Maxie sped down the hallway, praying that he would make it on time. He quickly opened the door to the back of the stage, running in. He approached Tabitha, whose eyes looked red. "A-are you okay, Tabitha?" He asked, reaching a hand out to him. "I-I'm fine. Boss, you should get out there. You're very late." Tabitha wiped his left eyes, and practically started to push Maxie onto the stage. "Okay, okay! I'm going, Tabby!" He said, awkwardly moving through the curtains and onto the stage. Courtney respectively moved out of the way and he took the pillar, picking up the paper and skimming over the words. "Okay, good morning everyone. I am so sorry that am I late, I absolutely promise that it will not happen again. Now, Courtney, what have you gone over in my absence?" She whispered in his ear, telling him about all of the announcements she made. "Oh great, I get the worse one." He mumbled, turning back to the audience. "Alright, unfortunately, we are not any closer to finding Groudon or the Red Orb. We have found some materials, which will be useful later in finding the correct cave. I believe that we are right on the edge of finding the Red Orb, finding Groudon will soon follow. I believe in us, and we will, and I repeat, **will** crush Team Aqua and their silly pursuit to expand the sea!" The crowd cheered, and Maxie smiled in his victory to win over the crowd.

Courtney went back stage to check on Tabitha. As she looked around for him, she heard what sounded like gagging from the bathroom. She slowly walked towards it, hearing Tabitha cough and breathe harshly. Then the gagging resumed, as she gripped the knob. She pulled the door open, witnessing Tabitha shove his fingers into his mouth and coughing. A bit of vomit flowed down his hand, as the rest made it into the bowl. Courtney's eyes widened, as Tabitha coughed more and gripped the bowl. "W-Wha-What are you doing?" She said, quietly in disbelief. Tabitha slowly turned to face her, tears streaming down his face and his bottom lip quivering. "W-wh- _why_?" That was all she could ask, staring at him as tears threatened to flow from her eyes. Tabitha looked away, trying to find a good reason but he couldn't. He couldn't find a good reason to steer her away from what she was thinking. From what she knew. "I-I . . ." He felt like he couldn't speak, his throat was burning. Another stream of tears fell from his eyes. "I-I'm fat . . ." He said, those words being the only ones he could he could mutter. "C-come on." Courtney walked towards him, picking him up. "You need some water. It'll- It'll rehydrate you." They walked out of the bathroom, Tabitha covering his eyes as he sobbed. Courtney lead him to her room, sitting themselves down and giving him a glass of water to drink. He drank it slowly, trying to soothe the pain in his throat. He set the glass down and looked at the floor in shame, he didn't want to look at her. Not after what she just saw him do. Courtney lunged at him, pulling him into a hug. It was a few moments before Tabitha started to cry again, wrapping his arms around her small frame. She felt his body shake with every sob his produced, she felt his sadness. "It's okay," She whispered, trying to soothe him, but it only made him sob louder. Tears streamed down her face, as she gripped him tightly. "It's gonna be okay," Her voice started to falter, as they sat there and hugged, sobbing into each other's clothes.


	6. Chapter 5

"Shelly, that's insane." Archie said, leaning back in his chair, rolling his eyes at Shelly's excuse. "I'm telling you it happened! Some green-faced man came into my room and stole the papers calculating the exact location of the Blue Orb! The grunts heard me firing shots at him!" She stomped her feet in frustration, trying to get her boss to listen. "Shelly, you sure you're okay?" Matt asked, stepping towards her. "It might'a just been a bad dream. You never know for sure." Archie stood up, and walked towards the window. "We'll make new papers. It wasn't that hard to get them, ot was fairly easily, actually!" He chucked, staring at the sky. Shelly opened her mouth to protest, but he continued."We'll celebrate tonight with a party! A party for my winning, succeeding team! Team Magma is gonna be crushed between our toes when we find Kyroge and change the world for the better!" He heartily laughed, as Shelly walked out in frustration. "There is just no getting through to that man. . ." She muttered, heading towards her bedroom to recreate the papers that were stolen from her.

Maxie scoffed at the latest post that Team Aqua had created on a certain social media app. "A party? What do they even have to celebrate? Their stupidity?" He rolled his eyes, setting his smartphone down and looking at his papers from the meeting. He started to work on them, scribbling his signature onto them and whatnot. It was grueling. After thirty minutes, it felt like an hour had past. He briefly glanced at the clock, ' **6:45** '. He sighed, biting his lip in utter boredom. ' _I wish I could go that that stupid party. I'd love to see Archie trying to get rid of me, and me trying to frustrate him. I wonder if-'_ He stopped thinking, getting flustered. ' _Ugh! How could I think such things?! You know that friendship ended long ago. . .'_ He sighed once again, gripping his head in his right hand. A green light flashed in his in concern in his eye, seeing the same thing from last night: that mask. He slowly left the comfort of the sofa and walked to his shelf to retrieve it. He picked it up, staring at it. It glowed again, pulling his interest closer. "N-no. . . I shouldn't. Definitely should not. Not tonight." He quickly tossed it behind his desk, walking away from it and sitting onto his couch. Camerupt curled up beside him, caught up in a deep sleep. Maxie watched some drama-tv show, getting ingaged in the story until his phone buzzed. He checked it, and it was a new post from Team Aqua. 'It's time to show up those Team Magma losers with our own kick-ass party! I bet they must be reading encyclopaedias or playing bingo LOL ?￢ﾀﾙ Maxie rolled his eyes as he continued to read on. 'Hope Maxie doesn't show up and kill it with his absolutely boring attitude, that would be awful. Remember, party starts at 8:00 sharp!' Maxie growled. How dare that pirate scum call him such a bland slander! He gritted his teeth and clenched his fist in anger. Then he remembered, he _could_ ruin Archie's party, but not in the way that he would suspect. He walked behind his desk and picked up the magical item he used last night. He hesitatingly walked into his bathroom, and smoothed his hair, trying to ease his rising nerves. Did he really want to do this? I mean, Archie and him were friends once. But he guessed that those times were in the past. Besides, he wanted to see the look on that fool's face when showed up out of nowhere. He placed the mask in his hands, examing it once more. On the bottom side, the mask looked like it was _smiling,_ and gave Maxie another glow as a sign of approval. Maxie smirked deviously, and held it up to his face, saying: " _ **Showtime.**_ "

In the living room, thunder boomed. " _Ahh!_ " Camerupt jumped up, startled at the noise. Lighting flashed, and the creature heard strange noises coming from the bathroom. He walked closer, peeking into the bathroom for a moment Camerupt's eyes widened when he realized what was happening. He reeled back as Zangoose and Seviper walked out of their room, puzzled. " _I didn't know a storm was expected tonight."_ Seviper said, slithering up to Camerupt, who was shaking. " _ **It wasn't.**_ " Camerupt gravely said, still keeping his gaze locked onto the bathroom. Zangoose and her shared a look, before peeking inside themselves. Maxie flew out of the room, spinning around so fast that the couple couldn't even recognize him. He stopped with a screeching sound, and looked into the mirror. "Wooo! It's nice to see me in this getup again! Welcome back, Mr. Powerful!" He straighted his sunglasses, his smirk widening. "Time to crash those loser's lame-ass party and get some more sweet revenge!" He laughed maniacally, and flew outside.

All three Pokémon stood there in shock, with their jaws dropped. " _What the hell just happened?!_ " Zangoose exclaimed, looking at Camerupt. " _That thing possessed him! And now he's gonna go attack Team Aqua's party! He'll be crushed by those ruffians!"_ Camerupt put his head underneath his hooves in defeat. " _We should go this Team Aqua place and stop him then!"_ Seviper said, looking nervous. " _Camerupt? What happened?"_ Mightyena asked, running into the room. " _It happened again, and he's headed for Team Aqua's base! Ohhh no."_ He covered up his head again. Crobat had flown in, listening to the conversation. " _What happened again?"_ Wheezing asked, puzzled. " _We explained this to you, Wheeze!_ " Mightyena exclaimed, slapping his paw onto his forehead. " _Oh, the face thing? Did it happen again?"_ Wheezing asked, both heads on it were confused. Crobat sighed, and landed onto the floor. " _Look, at least we know where Master Maxie is going this time. We'll head there, get him, and come back. Wheeze, you're coming with us this time, whether you like it or not."_ Crobat said, pointing his wing at the smoke-providing creature. " _Ughh. Okay."_ Wheeze said, rolling his eyes. Mightyena ran up to the window, and pushed it open. The group exited slowly and carefully, especially Camerupt, due to his size. The group started to hurry towards Team Aqua's base, but got distracted by a battle in the same place they found Zangoose and Seviper. " _ **Where's my son?!**_ " An much older Zangoose with a scar running down the left side of his face, wearing an amulet roared, clawing a Seviper in the face. " _We don't have your dirty brat! Where's my beautiful daughter? I_ _ **know**_ _you did something with her!"_ The serpent hisses, wrapping around the old creature in rage. " _Is that our-?" "Yes, Vipi. Let's just walk away, We're not any importance to them anymore."_ Zangoose continued, until the other muttered " _S-son?"_

He turned around in shock, wide-eyed and stared at him. " _Son, I'm so glad you're alright! The whole horde has missed you! Now, help me finish this slithering bastard off!"_ The old pokemon broke free of the wrap, and pinned the male Seviper down. Vipi slithered behind him, looking into the puzzled eyes of her father.

" _Vipi! You're alive-_ _ **ack!**_ " Vipi's father was thrown to the ground, as the leader Zangoose held his claws to his neck. " _Father, stop!"_ Zangoose cried, earning a moment of his father's attention. " _What? Why aren't you attacking her, son? Are you-traveling together?"_ The last words were spat out, like Zangoose's father couldn't physically bring himself to say them. " _Not traveling. We're . . ."_ He paused, shutting his eyes, he knew it was going to happen. He didn't, maybe even couldn't, tell him. " _We're in a relationship, dad."_ He whispered, tears threatening to leak out as he turned his head away in shame.

He had taught him that Sevipers were pure evil. He had taught them that they fight dirty, and will do anything to bring down the tribe. But, when he met Vipi, that changed. He had to protect her, he remembered the terrified look in her eyes when he found her at the riverbank. He took her in, and now-

Now he was betraying the horde for her.

Maxie's team stood in shock, looking behind the two as they watched. Both of the father's faces turned from slight confusion to blazing fury. "Fine. You wanna waste your life, your destiny, and be with someone who made to hate you? Fine." Zangoose's father said, running up and pinning him to a tree. " _ **But don't you dare come running back to me when she finds something better.**_ _You're no son of mine. My son wouldn't leave me and the horde for a_ _ **seviper.**_ " He let go, dropping the younger and walking away, with no emotion at all in his eyes. Vipi's father slithered up to her, towering over her small frame. " _I- I'm so ashamed in you. I thought you were my little girl, Vipi. I guess that's not true."_ He hestaintly slithered away, sadness and regret in his eyes. Vipi fought the urge to sob as both fathers disbanded, abandoning their battle. Zangoose walked over to her, and stared into her eyes. His emotion overcame him, and he started to wail into the darkness of the night. They both sobbed, crying into each other's frame. Camerupt and the others hesitantly walked towards them, trying to give any comfort they could before returning to the long journey ahead of them. However, Vipi and Zangoose decided to return to the Magma base, in order to confort each other; leaving Maxie's team to trek on and find him.

The party was awful. Archie _had_ to admit that.

Y'know that 'prom' your Middle School threw to make it feel like you were in High School for two hours? That was this party.

The music was bad, there barely any food, and people were just standing around talking to each other.

Team Aqua's leader stood at the entrance, hand clasped over his eyes, he couldn't bring himself to look at this. "Well, I have to admit, this is absolutely awful, Arch. Nobody is having fun, not even Matt! Why don't you just shut it down already?" Shelly asked, leaning against the doors. "I don't know. It's been two hours and I haven't seen one person on the dancefloor. Holy Kyogre, I fucked up." Archie pinched the bridge of the nose, he definitely didn't prepare for this party. "Yeah, the team's not going to forgive you for this, not ever. I did remind you that you needed to send some people to prepare out about this but you were like;" She put on the best Archie imitation she could and bellowed: " **oh no Shelly! It's gonna be fine! I got everything figured out, yar!** "

His pinched his nose harder when she said 'yar' and threw his head back against the door. The next moment, a strong burst of energy burst the door open and sent them flying. A stream of light flew by where they landed, and in a second flat, Maxie stood on stage. "Wow. I didn't expect this!" He said, his hat shielding his eyes from the audience. "The leader of Team Aqua's party going down in flames! This is pathetic! No one is doing anything right now but standing around and mingling like people in a nursery home!" He giggled, trying to contain his laughter. He turned to the audience and smirked, a smile that looked evil. "Now, who wants a _**real**_ party?" He whipped out a metal guitar, black with blood red flames surrounding the front. The grunts stood in awe, some even starting to cheer. " **I can't hear you!** " Maxie taunted, waving his hand to signal more cheering from the crowd. They cheered louder, some pumping their fists in the air. Maxie brought up his right hand and threw it down onto the strings, causing a booming note. The grunts flew back, some of them hitting the wall. Maxie preformed a riff, as the grunts cheered loudly and started to dance. Archie and Shelly groaned, slowly pulling themselves up and looking at the crowd. Shelly looked to the stage, instantly recognizing the mask stranger and reaching for her handgun. She grabbed her walkie talkie and spoke into it. "Matt, I need you. Rally the top grunts." She ran into the backroom, as some of the other grunts did as well. Archie stood up, his mouth dropping in awe at how well this stranger rocked. The entire crowd was having a fantastic time! He laughed, looking to the stage as Maxie finished his song. He noticed Archie, looking at him with those . . . beautiful . . . sea blue eyes. He showed a nervous smile, as he zipped down, leaving behind a automatic DJ who kept the party going. He zoomed to Archie, staring straight into his eyes. "H-Hello." Archie greeted, nervously smoothing his hair. "Well, _**Hello**_ _."_ Maxie said in a bold voice, taking in his look. "You look absolutely stunning, pet." He flirted, walking closer. "O-oh. T-thank you, I supose." Archie backed up, his blush deepening. In a small second, Maxie swooped Archie off his feet and said " _Let's light this candle."_

They leaned in for a kiss until Shelly kicked down the door, wearing Team Aqua™ foam armor and pointing her handgun at Maxie.

"Step away from our boss!" She yelled, firing a shot that hit Maxie's necktie. A piece flew off, and landed on the ground, reverting to a piece of Maxie's uniform. Maxie dropped Archie in a startled daze, and he scowled at Shelly. "Rude." He said, stepping over Archie and whispering "Sorry, love." "Archie, get out of here." Shelly huffed, rolling her eyes. The team leader lifted himself up, and walked back to his office. "Okay, dirtbag. We want our papers and we want them now!" She threatened, as Matt and three grunts came running in. "Okay." Maxie said, pulling out a Holo-Caster and typing onto it. "Hmm. That's not good. The team's fees are due, and almost none of them have paid yet. Your rate is low, yada, yada, yada, yada." He continued to type as the group looked at each other in confusion. "I suggest signing up for our savings plan to make sure this place doesn't go backrupt." He pulled out a paper, and held it out to them. Shelly rolled her eyes in frustration. "Take him down!" She cried, firing shots along with the others. Maxie dodged the shots, stretching his body in supernatural ways. Shelly's eyes widened but she continued to shoot. Camerupt and Maxie's team entered the auditorium, and saw the showdown taking place. " _We have to stop them!_ " Camerupt exclaimed, and used Earth Power. The ground bursted underneath Shelly and Matt, as the grunts fled from the scene. Maxie zoomed towards his team, and they escaped from the auditorium. "Damn it all to hell!" Shelly yelled, slamming her gun to the ground. Matt looked around at the scene, finding the small scrap of clothing from earlier. "Shelly, I think I found something important. . ." He said.

The next morning, Maxie stood outside Rustleburo Harbor as a white ship approached the dock. A man wearing odd clothes exited the ship, along with some employees from the corporation he was associated with. "Hello, Mr. Maxie. It is a pleasure to meet you." He greeted, doing a small bow. His hair was a bright lime green, and he wore very odd goggles. "Charmed," Maxie greeted, shaking his hand. "Very nice to meet you, Mister . . .?"

"Faba, Branch Chief of Aether Paradise. I am terribly sorry that Ms. Lusamine could not accompany us. She is very busy at the moment, children and all." He explained, waving his hand dismissively. "Of course, I shall show you to your room, Mr. Faba. Please follow me." Maxie lead them inside, as Faba studied the facility. When reached the room, Maxie left them after some words. Faba stepped inside and pulled out a device. "Come on, come on. . ." He growled, gripping it as it calculated the area. It pinged as it found a signal, and Faba grinned viscously. "Yes, _yes!_ I knew it was here! The Mask of Loki, the ultimate power source! Now all I need to do is find it. . . and retrieve it."

 _ **BONUS CHAPTER**_

"Please, Tabby, eat." Courtney begged, holding a spoon to his mouth. "No." Tabitha said, turning his head away. "Tabby, _please._ You need to eat." She begged again, scooting closer to him. He shook his head, shutting his mouth tightly. Courtney grabbed his mouth and opened it forcibly, sticking the spoon in quickly and pulling it out. Tabitha turned his head to spit it out, but witnessed Courtney's worried expression. He hesitantly swallowed, turning to face her. "Good, you're getting better. S-" She paused. "S-sorry for doing it by force." She looked to her feet, ashamed. "No. I wouldn't eat it on my own." He admitted, looking down at the plate of mashed potatoes that Courtney had prepared. She looked up, seeing his smile. It looked so cute when he smiled, with his chubby cheeks and brown eyes. He reminded her of a chubby cat. She scooped up some more, and held the spoon up to his mouth. It took a small moment, but Tabitha ate it willingly. After an hour, the plate was clear. Tabitha pulled Courtney into a quick hug.

"I really appreciate this, Courtney." He said, snuggling her. Courtney snuggled him as well, hoping that this moment would last forever. Unfortunately, she had to go back to her bedroom, but she was glad that Tabitha was making good progress in stopping the doubt in himself.


End file.
